Sun, Sand, Unicorns: Making a Case for Florida's Tech Scene
- $4.5 billion Magic Leap puts Sunshine State on the startup map
- Still an uphill battle to attract venture funding, talent
This article is for subscribers only.
Flush with venture capital funding from the likes of Alibaba and Google, Magic Leap Inc. founder Rony Abovitz is attempting to marry the real world with the imaginary. Don a pair of his mixed-reality goggles and -- according to the hype -- fire-breathing dragons may appear in your living room and life-size whales could swim through your school gymnasium.
Yet the company isn’t based in a West Coast tech hub, but balmy South Florida. So is JetSmarter Inc., the chartered aircraft-hailing company backed by rapper Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and members of the Saudi royal family, and Chewy, the online pet supplies retailer acquired by PetSmart Inc. for a reported $3.35 billion.